We are all creative beings, but all too often we let the inner artist be dictated by the words of our circle of friends, acquaintances and well-wishers who may not always have the right things to say to us. For want of that early word of encouragement, many of us never believe that we can be artists at all.
That little timid voice that raises its head inside us as a child, can often become the most dominant voice even when we turn into adults. So, while we are now adept at navigating the world with plenty of common sense and logic, we find that we are caught in that twilight zone between our creative impulses and our logical brain.
The dream of spreading our wings and taking flight as an artist is thwarted by the fear of failure that pulls us behind and unbeknownst to us, we are now trapped in a life that leaves us devoid of creative fulfillment.
So, what should one do?
How many of us find ourselves in that space almost every single day, where we’re caught in a web of rhetoric that our thoughts drill into us, chiding us and stifling us, reminding us that we can never be an artist, because we’re not good enough to be one?
I’ve been there so many times. Riddled by doubt, plagued by the imposter syndrome, caught in my own self-loathing and self-deprecating beliefs that says—I’m not “trained” or “talented enough” or “good enough” to be an artist! And, paradoxically enough, years later, that is the very thing that speaks to my soul, that drives me to push myself towards newer realms of creative expression, without bothering about what the world thinks of me!
Why do we remain blocked as artists, when we already have the wings to take these absolutely delightful flights into our own creative worlds?
Why do we allow our logical brain to judge ourselves so harshly?
Why do we fail to nurture ourselves time and again, to explore our individual creative vistas?
What is this fear that is so persistent, running like an undercurrent throughout our lives, that stops us from living creatively, for fear that we aren’t good enough?
Today, as I invite myself, I request you, dear readers, to move away from that space of self-doubt, and step into a world of creative explorations, by asking ourselves, the one important question—
Why don’t we take ourselves seriously?
Let us consciously pledge to nurture the inner artist within us.
Let us break out of the shackles of preconceived notions and judgements that others have imposed on us and instead, let ourselves loose on the vast terrain of creativity.
Let us learn to dip into the reservoir of those innumerable thoughts, ideas and concepts that nudge us to play, experiment and discover things without fear of failure.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we all began to nurture our creativity by doing something new every week? What, if we feel brave enough to take baby steps into our creative souls once again and see where that leads us?
Who knows, at the end of such experimentations, we might end up with a collection of writings, artworks, poems, stories, photographs and films to be proud of?
These works might just be the beginning of one of the most amazing journeys and might even alter the course of our lives some day, so when we look back on this day, we might be able to inspire another fledgling artist into finding their wings and flying again?
*******
Written as part of our #SoulfulSunday free writing exercise, along with my friends, Vinitha and Shilpa.
That is my story each time I create something, either written or drawn. The inner critic who says I am not as good as someone else pops up, out of the blue, and pulls me down even before I gather the courage to share it with the world.
I loved how you expressed your thoughts, Esha. You make writing seem so easy! How DO you do it so beautifully? Pray tell me! 🙂
A great reminder to let go of inhibitions and stop second guessing ourselves!
You know how much I resonate with everything you’ve said here! We are our worst critics, and we let our insecurities hold us back from expressing our creative, artistic selves. This is such a wonderful reminder to silence that critic and give ourselves permission to create.
This is such an inspiring post. You’ve echoed what most of us feel almost every single day. And we end up clipping our own wings. Wonderfully put Esha.
Thank you so much, Tulika! So glad to see you stop by the blog today. I know what you mean. I’d been there far too often for my liking and hence thought of penning this post. We all need to fly without the fear of falling, right? 🙂